City Council Agenda 2026-05-19
CITY GOVERNMENTFEATURED
The Mercer Island City Council will meet on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at 5:00 PM, at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center. It looks to be a lighter than typical agenda.
The full 63 page agenda can be found here. My summary follows.
But first, a reminder: Democracy is not a spectator sport. If you have an opinion on local city issues, social media posts are cheap, but if you want real impact, talk to the Council! You can email the whole council or me as an individual councilmember. Or send an email to the city clerk to let her know that you would like to speak (for up to three minutes) at the upcoming meeting. All are welcome. You do not need to be registered to vote. Though if you can register, please do! You do not even need to be an adult. If you have an opinion or an idea, I want to hear it. That said, for non-policy administrative matters, please email the customer service team.
Click links below to read more on your favorite agenda topic:
AB 6931: YFS Program Update and Youth Matters Report
AB 6929: 2025 Community Member of the Year (Proclamation No. 387)
AB 6928: 2026 Board and Commission Appointments (Resolution Nos 1694 & 1695)
AB 6930: City Planning for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Notable Consent Agenda Items
There is only one non-routine consent agenda item for this meeting:
AB 6933: National Gun Violence Awareness Day (Proclamation No. 388)
The full text of this proclamation is reproduced below:
WHEREAS, every day, nearly 130 people in the United States are killed by gun violence and more than 200 are shot and wounded, with an average of more than 19,000 gun homicides every year. People in the United States are 26 times more likely to die by gun homicide than people in other high-income countries.
Support for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens goes hand in hand with keeping guns away from those who are a danger to themselves or others.
Mayors, councilmembers, and law enforcement officers — in partnership with local violence intervention activists and resources — know their communities best, are the most familiar with local criminal activity and how to address it and are best positioned to understand how to keep their citizens safe.
In January 2013, Hadiya Pendleton was tragically shot and killed at age 15; and on June 5, 2026 to recognize the 29th birthday of Hadiya Pendleton (born: June 2, 1997), people across the United States will recognize National Gun Violence Awareness Day and wear orange in tribute to Hadiya Pendleton and other victims of gun violence; and the loved ones of those victims.
The idea was inspired by a group of Hadiya’s friends, who asked their classmates to commemorate her life by wearing orange; they chose this color because hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters when out in the woods, and orange is a color that symbolizes the value of human life.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Dave Rosenbaum, Mayor of the City of Mercer Island, do hereby proclaim June 5, 2026, as
GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS DAY
in the City of Mercer Island and urge all resident to support local communities’ efforts to prevent the tragic effects of gun violence and to honor and value human life. We honor and remember all victims and survivors of gun violence and encourage everyone to wear orange on this day to promote awareness and contribute to a safer community.
APPROVED, this 19th day of May 2026.
________________________________
Mayor Dave Rosenbaum
Proclamation No. 364
AB 6931: YFS Program Update and Youth Matters Report
In this study session staff, together with two student volunteers, will present an update on Youth and Family Services. YFS focuses its services on seniors, youth, and households experiencing financial stress. I believe a city's budget should reflect its values and priorities, and the city budgets around $4.1 million each year in support of YFS. The only general fund budget line items that are larger are police ($9.9 million), fire and EMS ($9.3 million), and public works ($6.1 million). Streets ($4.9 million), Development services (largely funded by revenue from developers, $4.3 million), capital improvements ($9.6 million), water ($25.2 million), sewer ($16.4 million), and storm water ($4.6 million) are also larger, but, like YFS, are outside the general fund.
As a side note, while not part of this discussion, the YFS fund is experiencing budget challenges, as is the city budget more generally. A significant share of YFS fund revenue comes from thrift shop net revenue, and of course from the tremendously important YFS Foundation support. And some comes from grants and service revenue. But a significant share comes from general fund support. The YFS fund balance at YE 2025 was $649K, versus a budgeted balance of $897K. (The gap was largely driven by lower than expected service revenues and thrift shop sales.) Budgeted target fund balance at YE 2026 is $298K, and, given 2025 results, we will probably end up lower. This does not bode well. Absent increased revenues or cost reductions, the YFS fund will almost certainly run out of money in 2027. However, I am confident that both staff and the Council (as well as the Foundation and the community) understand and appreciate the value of YFS to our community. We will be developing our 2027-2028 budget this summer and fall and will need to work creatively and diligently to find money for these important programs.
The most interesting parts of the proposed presentation packet are those related to the WA State Healthy Youth survey data. Generally this data shows are we doing better than in the past and than the rest of the state. This is excellent news. See below for relevant slides.
AB 6929: 2025 Community Member of the Year (Proclamation No. 387)
Once a year Mercer Island selects one resident to honor as "Community Member of the Year". This year Fan Yuan is being honored. The full proclamation text follows.
WHEREAS, in 1990, the City Council began recognizing outstanding contributions of Mercer Island community members and the City has continued this tradition for more than 30 years.
During the January 16, 2026 City Council Planning Session, the City Council selected Fan Yuan as the 2025 Community Member of the Year for her contributions to the Mercer Island community.
Fan has served as the President of the Mercer Island Chinese Association (MICA) since November 2023. Through her leadership on the MICA and other local organizations, she has continually shown her dedication to the Mercer Island Community.
Fan has played an instrumental role in strengthening the partnership between the MICA and Parks & Recreation through the development and support of multiple major community events, including the Lunar New Year Celebration and Mid-Autumn Festival Carnival, each hosting thousands of attendees at the Community Center.
Through this collaboration, MICA has been able to expand opportunities for residents to engage with and celebrate Chinese culture through inclusive, family-friendly events and activities. These events have included cultural celebrations, performances, workshops, and community gatherings that highlight traditions, heritage, and shared experiences for residents of all backgrounds.
Outside of MICA, Fan has been a passionate advocate for children in our library system and schools. She runs a weekly Mandarin Story Time at the Mercer Island Library, and is on the KCLS Foundation Board; and she has actively supported our school system as a board member for MIPA and the Northwood PTA.
Through thoughtful planning and strong community partnerships, Fan has helped foster a vibrant and inclusive environment that reflects Mercer Island’s commitment to cultural diversity and community connection.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Dave Rosenbaum, Mayor of the City of Mercer Island, do hereby proclaim Fan Yuan as the
2025 COMMUNITY MEMBER OF THE YEAR
APPROVED, this 19th day of May 2026.
________________________________
Mayor Dave Rosenbaum
Proclamation No. 387
AB 6928: 2026 Board and Commission Appointments
The Council will be voting on nominees for board and commission appointments. This year we have far more volunteers than typical. I extend my personal thanks to all those who stepped forward to volunteer to make your community a better place. It takes courage and it takes time. If you do not get selected this time, please try again next year.
The table below recaps the number of open positions (many of which are associated with current members seeking reappointment) and the number of volunteers (some people volunteered to serve on more than one body).
AB 6930: City Planning for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Staff will present to Council on planning for the FIFA World Cup. You may have heard about this world cup thing. It is kind of a big deal I guess. :-)
Despite the fact that no games will be played on Mercer Island, a lot of work is going into planning, as there will be tens (more likely hundreds ) of thousands of people participating in world-cup related events around the city--even if only some of them are lucky enough to go to a game.
In case you have not seen the schedule, here it is:
Want to Know More? Have an Idea?
Drop me or the whole council an email!